Earth boring machine positioning system

ABSTRACT

A system for erecting and changing the position of the drill column of an earth boring machine. The drill assembly is held in place by supports pivotally mounted upon a base. Brace means are attached to the supports which hold the drill assembly in position. Linkages may be attached to drill assembly and the brace means removed. Movement of the main thrust cylinder in the drill assembly causes the support means and consequently the drill column to change position. Support members may again be put in place to hold the drill column in position.

United States Patent [72] Inventors James W. Young Irving, Tex.; Ernest0. Kunkel, Nevada, Mo. [21] Appl. No. 862,216 [22] Filed Sept. 30, 1969[45} atented Feb. 16, 1971 [73] msignee Dresser Industries, Inc.

Da. a.J e5 529*59229! P22??? [54] EARTH BORING MACHINE POSITIONINGSYSTEM 8 Claims, 4 Drawing Figs.

[52] 11.8. CI. 175/57, 173/44 [SI Int. Cl E2lc 9/00, E21c 11/00, E21b7/02 [50] Field ol'Search 173/44, 43, 39,28; 175/220, 57; 173/] [56]References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,775,428 12/1956 Monthan 173/44X3,012,620 12/1961 Gaines 173/44 3,114,425 12/1963 Adams l73/44X3,205,627 9/1965 Gyongyosi l73/44X FOREIGN PATENTS 609,290 1/1935Germany 173/44 Primary Examiner- David H. Brown Anorneys- Robert W.Mayer, Thomas P. Hubbard, Jr,, Daniel Rubin, Raymond T. Majesko, Roy L.Van Winkle, William E. Johnson, .Ir., Roderick W. MacDonald and Eddie E.Scott PATENTEU FEB 16 ml SHEET 1 [1F 2 INVENTORS:

JAMES W. YOUNG ERNEST O. KUNKEL ATTORN EY PATENTED Fislslsm sum 2 or 2INVENTORS: JAMES w. YOUNG 4 ERNEST O. KUNKEL Z44. z/M

ATTORNEY EARTH BORING MACHINE POSITIONING SYSTEM This invention relatesto the art of earth boring and more particularly relates to a system forchanging the position of the drill column of an earth boring machine.This invention has special utility as a raise drilling system whereinthe raise hole boring operation proceeds by the drilling of a relativelysmall pilot hole followed by enlargementof the hole to the desired size.

Before mechanized systems of shaft sinking and raising were available,these operations were extremely dangerous for the personnel involved andrequired considerable amounts of time. Modern mechanized equipment hasdone much to reduce these difficulties and the mechanized equipment isstill being improved.

While efficiency and economy are considered in connection with all earthboring equipment, raise drilling imposes strict requirements of size andoperation because the equipment is generally operated inside of a mineshaft. The system must be compact so that it will operate within theconfines of the shaft, must be easy to transport and highly reliable. Adetailed description of a mechanized. system of raise drilling isdescribed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,220,494.

Prior art earth boring and raise drilling systems have been positionedby separate hydraulic or mechanical means. This involved the use ofunits additional tothose required for boring and the overall system wasmore complicated. These additional units compete for the limited spaceavailable in a mine shaft and require additional service and repair. Theprior art systems also required additional systems for erecting andlowering the drill column with all the associated disadvantages. It cantherefore be appreciated that a reduction in the number of components inan earth boring system is extremely important. I

The system of the present invention utilizes the main thrust cylinder ofthe earth boring machine for erecting, positioning and lowering. Alinkage means is attached to the drill assembly that houses the mainthrust cylinder and the braces are removed. Movement of the main thrustcylinder changes the position of the drill column and may be used toraise or lower the drill assembly when transporting the earth boringmachine. Braces may again be attached to the supports thus locking thedrill assembly and drill column in the desired position. The braces areadjustable and a wedge means may be used in conjunction with the bracesfor preventing movement of the supports.

it is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an earthboring machine positioning system that is more economical than those ofthe prior art.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide an earthboring machine positioning system that has relatively few moving parts.

lt is a still further object of the present invention to provide anearth boring system that incorporates the fundamental units into thepositioning system.

it is a still further object of this invention to provide an earthboring machine positioning system that is highly reliable.

lt is a still further object of the present invention to provide anearth boring system that will hold the drill column firmly in place.

It is a still further object of the present invention to provide anearth boring machine positioning system that is more simple and fasterthan those of the prior arts.

it is a still further object of the present invention to provide asystem of erecting and lowering an earth boring machine.

The above and other objects and advantages will become apparent from aconsideration of a the following detailed description when taken inconjunction with the drawings wherein;

F IG. 1 shows an earth boring machine of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view of another embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 3 shows the means for securing the braces tothe supports and base.

FIG. 4 shows the braces disconnected and the linkage attached to themain thrust cylinder with the drill column having been moved to an anglefrom the vertical.

Referring now to the drawing in more detail and in particular to FIG. 1.There is shown an earth boring machine indicated generally at 10. Thedrill column and drilling mechanism are held in place by supports 11 and12, pivotally mounted on base 13 by means of hinges 14 and 15. Thesupports are held in place by braces 16 and 17 which are connectedbetween the base and the upper part of the supports. Braces l6 and 17are attached to the base at points 18 and 19 and to the support columnsat 20 and 21. The piston rod 22 of the main thrust cylinder 23 isattached to the base member 13 by a hinge means 24. The drill headassembly 25 and power assembly 26 are attached to the main thrustcylinder 23 so that movement of the thrust cylinder either up or downmoves the drilling column that is connected to the drill head assembly25. Linkage elements 27 and 28 are attached to the base members byhinges 29 and 30. Connections for the linkages are shown on the mainthrust cylinder at. points 8 and 9. it can be appreciated that otherpoints of connection for the linkage may be included as long as they arelocated on the drill assembly. The main thrust cylinder 23 is a doubleacting hydraulic cylinder so that force may be applied when the cylinderis being moved either up or down.

A side view of another embodiment of the earth boring machine of thisinvention is shown inFlG. 2. A drill column 31 is attached to the drillhead assembly 32 and is in place for drilling a vertical bore. The powerfor drilling is supplied by power assembly 33 and the main thrustcylinder 34 moves the drill column in the bore. Brace 35 holds. one ofthe support columns 36 in place. Wedge means 37 hold the supports firmlyin place in a manner that will be explained in greater detail later. Ameans of adjusting the length of brace 35 is shown. This consists ofathreaded sleeve 38 and threaded elements 39 and 40. When the sleeve 38is rotated in one direction, the length of brace 35 will be shortenedand when rotated in the other direction, the length will be extended. inall other respects, the system of HG. 2 is the same as that shown inFlG. 1.

FIG. 3 shows the wedge means 37 in greater detail. A wedge element 41 isshown that may be forcibly inserted into the yoke of one of the braces.A threaded bolt 41, plate 43, and nut 44 are arranged so that the wedgeelement 42 will be drawn into the yoke by tightening the nut 44. Thebraces are put in place and locked with a pin. This may leave a slightamount of play in the connections which can be removed by inserting thewedge means in the manner explained above.

Referring now to H6. 4, the positioning system is shown with the linkagemeans attached to the drill assembly and the braces removed from thesupports. The position of the drill assembly has been changed from thevertical. The linkage 45 has been rotated on hinge 46 and attached tothe drill assembly at point 47. The braces have been disconnected fromthe support columns and movement of the main thrust cylinder 48 hascaused the support 49 to pivot on hinge means 50. In order to bore ahole at an angle to the vertical the supports may again be put in place.Brace 51 will pivot on hinge 52 and by rotation of sleeve 53 the lengthof brace 51 may be changed. The brace is then attached to the supportcolumn 49 at connection 54 and the linkage means are disconnected atpoint 47. Wedge means may be inserted as previously described to givegreater stability. The system is then ready for operation and an angledhole may be bored.

In order to transport the earth boring machine, the drill assembly islowered to the horizontal. This may be accomplished much in the samemanner as the positioning operation explained above. Referring to FIG.4, the linkage 45 is attached to the drill assembly at point 47 andbrace 51 is disconnected from the support column. As the main thrustcylinder 48 is moved the drill assembly is lowered until it is in thehorizontal position for transportation. The system may be erected in asimilar manner by reversing the operation.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property orprivilege is claimed are defined as follows:

We claim:

1. An earth boring system that provides movement of the drill assemblyfor erecting, positioning and lowering comprising:

a base member;

drill assembly support means pivotally connected to said base member;

a drill assembly positioned to move along said support means, includinga main thrust cylinder pivotally attached to said base member; and

linkage means attached to said base member that may be connected to saiddrill assembly so as to cause the drill assembly to change positions inresponse to actuation of the thrust cylinder. 7

2. The system of claim 1 including brace means attached to said basethat may be connected to said support means so as to stabilize saidsupport means.

3. The system of claim 2 including means to adjust the length of saidbrace means.

4. The system of claim 2 wherein said brace means includes a forkconnection between said brace means and said base and a wedge means thatmay be forcibly inserted in said fork thereby establishing a firmconnection.

5. The system of claim 2 wherein said brace means includes a forkconnection between said brace means and said support means and a wedgemeans that may be forcibly inserted in said fork thereby establishing afirm connection.

6. The system of claim 5 wherein said brace means includes a forkconnection between said brace and said base and a wedge means that maybe forcibly inserted in said fork thereby establishing a firmconnection.

7. A method ofchanging the position olthc drill assembly of an earthboring machine wherein said earth boring machine has a base, supportspivotally mounted on the base. brace means and a drill assembly withamain thrust cylinder, comprising the steps of:

connecting a linkage between the base and the drill assembly;

disconnecting the brace means; and

actuating the thrust cylinder so as to change the position of the drillassembly. I

8. The method ofclaim 7 including the steps of connecting a brace meansbetween the base and supports and disconnecting the linkage.

2. The system of claim 1 including brace means attached to said basethat may be connected to said support means so as to stabilize saidsupport means.
 3. The system of claim 2 including means to adjust thelength of said brace means.
 4. The system of claim 2 wherein said bracemeans includes a fork connection between said brace means and said baseand a wedge means that may be forcibly inserted in said fork therebyestablishing a firm connection.
 5. The system of claim 2 wherein saidbrace means includes a fork connection between said brace means and saidsupport means and a wedge means that may be forcibly inserted in saidfork thereby establishing a firm connection.
 6. The system of claim 5wherein said brace means includes a fork connection between said braceand said base and a wedge means that may be forcibly inserted in saidfork thereby establishing a firm connection.
 7. A method of changing theposition of the drill assembly of an earth boring machine wherein saidearth boring machine has a base, supports pivotally mounted on the base,brace means and a drill assembly with a main thrust cylinder, comprisingthe steps of: connecting a linkage between the base and the drillassembly; disconnecting the brace means; and actuating the thrustcylinder so as to change the position of the drill assembly.
 8. Themethod of claim 7 including the steps of connecting a brace meansbetween the base and supports and disconnecting the linkage.